The present invention lies in the field of handling apparatus for electronic components. More specifically, the present invention relates to mounting structures and carriers for repeatedly mounting electronic components in various environments such as during programming and/or development.
Very often electronic components must be mounted and dismounted from one or more environments by surface mounting or other methods. For example, field programmable logic devices as well as other types of programmable integrated circuits (herein "programmable device") such as the Altera MAX 7000 series devices, are typically tested, erased and reprogrammed numerous times, especially during development of prototypes. These cycles of erasure, reprogramming and development require that the device be repeatedly mounted on and dismounted from various printed circuit boards or other substrates.
Surface mount electronic components often are soldered, or otherwise affixed to a board or substrate. Such mounting procedures generally are intended to be permanent or at least semi-permanent. Unfortunately, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to repeatedly mount and dismount such surface mount electric components. To do so involves considerable time and effort on the part of the person or machine required to perform the dismounting and remounting steps. In addition, devices with fragile features are easily damaged or destroyed during the dismounting procedure. The substrate on which they are mounted can also be damaged.
Programmable devices and other electronic components often have many fine leads (typically 100 or more) precisely arranged in close proximity to one another in a lead "footprint." Because the boards on which these components are mounted have a corresponding footprint, the arrangement of leads must not be altered. Unfortunately, these small leads are fragile, susceptible to bending and deviation from their precise footprint.
In addition, many electronic components possess other features that are easily damaged. Often it will be necessary to handle these delicate components with specialized apparatus so that human hands seldom, if ever, touch the device. Furthermore, some field programmable devices are erased by directing ultraviolet radiation through a window on the device. Thus, care must be exercised to ensure that this window is not covered with a material that blocks or scatters ultraviolet radiation.
To protect against the above-noted types of damage to electronic components, vacuum wands and other specialized devices often are used for handling; however, such devices are expensive and often cumbersome to use.
For the above reasons, it is desirable to have improved apparatus for moving and mounting various electronic components from one environment to another.